Calories in Afghani Chicken

The recipe marinates 500 g of chicken with 25 g of cashew, 4 tablespoons of curd, 2 teaspoons of cream, 2 teaspoons of oil and methi leaves, and counts 4 portions from it. The source does not define the plate, so read one serving as one of those 4 portions: 125 g of chicken with about 6 g of cashew and half a teaspoon each of cream and oil. This is a lean reading of the dish. The pale, creamy Afghani chicken sold at restaurants and kebab counters is usually marinated in far more cream and basted with butter as it grills, so it will be higher than 287 kcal for the same weight of chicken.

Protein supplies 41% of the energy, a larger share than the chicken curries in the same set of recipes manage, with fat at 54% and carbohydrate at only 5%. There is no onion and tomato gravy, so almost nothing on the plate is starch or sugar. The 17.2 g of fat comes mainly from the chicken itself, with small additions from the cashew, cream and oil. In practical terms this is grilled chicken with a light coating, and its 29.7 g of protein is the reason to choose it.

One portion is about 14% of a sedentary man's daily energy requirement and 17% of a woman's, and delivers 29.7 g of protein with hardly any carbohydrate. It is therefore a protein dish that needs company: roti or rice for energy, and a salad, raita or cooked vegetable for fibre, of which the plate has only 0.6 g. Two portions come to 574 kcal and 59.4 g of protein. As a starter shared around a table, a couple of pieces add protein without much else.

The figure describes a plain, lightly dressed version. Many restaurant recipes use considerably more cream and add butter or processed cheese, which changes both the calories and the saturated fat, so 287 kcal should not be assumed when eating out. Those managing cholesterol or a heart condition should be guided by their doctor or dietitian on portions of meat and on the cream and butter that go with it.